The Pixel Farm Unveils PFMatchit

Los Angeles, Calif. - The Pixel Farm Ltd. has unveiled PFMatchit, a 2D/3D camera-tracking/matchmoving software package. The new product is announced as part of wider realignment of the company's core VFX product range, including PFTrack.

PFMatchit, released in response to customer demand for a lower entry point to The
Pixel Farm's technology, is the first product to harness the company's new 64-bit, node-based flowgraph architecture. This approach improves the core processes involved in camera tracking, one of the most critical aspects of successful VFX creation.

The new architecture gives users a logical, visual overview of tracking workflows, and a procedural, nonlinear environment in which to work. Digital artists have full control over every aspect of each individual operation within a workflow, and can experiment non-destructively with different approaches to a shot to achieve the best possible result. Moreover, the new architecture facilitates shared data manipulation, greater flexibility, and ultimately richer creative options for the digital artist.

Optimized as a GPU-accelerated, 64-bit application, and running natively on OSX,
Windows and Linux, the new architecture is underpinned with metadata management, fully-integrated Python scripting, workflow customization and a host of other features, such as in-built rolling shutter correction and image-distortion tools.

PFMatchit delivers a cutting-edge 2D and 3D tracking tool set. PFMatchit can solve an unlimited number of camera and object motions per shot, with each contributing to another, and then export the data as a single file. It can also solve for lens distortion, when no grid or alignment data exist, and save this lens profile as a preset for automatic use within the workflow.

The Edit Camera node provides manual controls enabling the user to animate the position of a camera in 3D space over time. It allows previous camera solves to be edited, and can generate hints to influence how a 3D camera moves, with the result that shots can be solved that were previously considered untrackable.

New lens distortion tools, in combination with in-built rolling shutter correction, support for RED RAW without conversion, plus stereo review tools, keep matchmoving artists within a single environment, eliminating the need to use any other third-party applications.

PF Matchit addresses the underlying market need for a low-cost matchmoving and
3D camera-tracking product, and complements The Pixel Farm's PFTrack, which provides additional features such as geometry tracking, image-based modeling and Z-depth extraction. PFMatchit, which is set to ship at the end of August, will be priced at $700 USD, with PFTrack now available at an entry point of $3300 USD.